Anthurium plant `A1`

ABSTRACT

A new variety of Anthurium is provided. It is a medium size, relatively open plant, suitable for production in 15 cm to 25 cm pots from a single tissue culture produced microcutting with vigorous growth; early and abundant branching; early and abundant flowering; dark green, glossy, thick, leathery leaves, sharply contrasting with medium size, white spathes (with relatively dark spadixes) held above and at the level of foliage on strong peduncles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a new and distinct Anthurium cultivarcharacterized by the following combination of repeatedly observedtraits:

1. Medium size,

2. relatively open growth habit,

3. vigorous growth,

4. early and abundant branching,

5. dark green, glossy, thick, leathery leaves,

6. early, abundant and year-round flowering,

7. inflorescence of good quality from the onset of flowering,

8. medium size spathes held on strong peduncles above and at the levelof foliage,

9. sharp contrast between white spathes and dark foliage,

10. good contrast between spathe and spadix;

and primarily selected for those characteristics being so selected fromthe progeny of the cross stated below being grown near Altha, Fla. in acultivated area.

Origin and Asexual Reproduction

Asexual reproduction of this cultivar by tissue culture was directed byme, such reproduction establishing that the plant does in fact maintainthe characteristics described, in successive generations.

The plant was initially selected where grown in a planned breedingprogram in or near Altha, Fla. and has since been reproduced by planttissue culture in the vicinity of Altha, Fla. with the characteristicsstated. The female parent was a selection of Anthurium antioquensedesignated II and the male parent was a selection of white Anthuriumandreanum designated AW 891. The cross was made in 1991 and the seedlingwas selected in 1992.

The new cultivar has been identified as Anthurium `A1`. It is possiblethat other identification will be adopted in the trade, but the nameselected will serve for the purposes hereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying photographs show as nearly true as it is reasonablypossible, in a color illustration of this character, typical specimensof the plant parts of the new cultivar. The plant of `A1` wasapproximately 14 months from planting a single tissue culturedmicrocutting and was grown in a 20 cm pot.

In the photographs:

FIG. 1 depicts the whole plant;

FIG. 2 illustrates the mature inflorescence;

FIG. 3 illustrates a top of a mature leaf; and

FIG. 4 illustrates the bottom of a mature leaf.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW CULTIVAR

The following observations and measurements describe plants grown nearAltha, Fla. under greenhouse conditions. These observations andmeasurements were recorded in September, 1995 from mature plants (about18 months from planting tissue cultured microcuttings) grown in 15 cmpots. Fully developed organs on the main stem were used formeasurements. Color values were determined on Sep. 21, 1995 undernatural, indirect light of approximately 450 foot-candles. Colorreferences are made to The R.H.S. Color Chart, except where generalcolor terms of ordinary significance are used.

`A1` has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions.The phenotype may vary with variations in environment and horticulturalpractices, such as temperature, light intensity, day length,fertilization and propagation procedure, without any change in genotype.

Parentage:

Female parent.--Anthurium antioquense "II".

Male parent.--Anthurium andreanum "AW 891".

Propagation: Plant tissue culture started near Altha, Fla.

Plant descriptions:

Growth habit.--Medium size, with short stems well branched, relativelyopen.

Height.--Foliage 36-43 cm; with spathes 43-50 cm.

Width.--65-80 cm.

Petiole:

Size.--26-31 cm long, 5.0-5.3 mm in diameter at the mid length; crosssection round at the mid length.

Geniculum.--3.2-3.5 cm long, 6.0-6.5 mm in diameter, not very prominent.

Petiole wings.--Not conspicuous, 2.8-3.4 cm long.

Color.--Geniculum: Front--146A at the base with some lighter color(146B) close to the juncture with leaf blade. Back--Darker than 144A;the base slightly darker than the juncture with leaf blade. Belowgeniculum: Front--Most similar to 146A with some resemblance to 147B and137C; proximally gradually darker with a strong resemblance to 147A atthe base. Back--Similar to 146A, B and 147B, proximally gradually darkerwith some resemblance to 147A at the base. Petiole wings: Similar to147A with some resemblance to 146A.

Leaf blade:

Position.--Midrib of most leaves approximates horizontal position orpoints slightly down from horizontal; large newly unfolded leavesreflexed.

Shape.--Between ovate and deltoid, slightly asymmetric; tip betweenacuminate and cuspidate, usually slightly curved; base truncate. Thebasal half of the blade on each side of the midrib curves upward. Leafmargin usually slightly wavy, especially in the basal half. Leavesproduced at early stage of development are flat, have more obtuse basesand a non wavy margin.

Size.--25.5-27.5 cm long; 19.2-22.0 cm wide; length to width ratio1.2-1.3:1.

Texture.--Thick, leathery, smooth, glossy; young leaves highly polished.

Veins.--Very prominent near the base, inconspicuous near the tip. Midribprotrudes from the upper leaf blade surface for approximately 2/3 of itslength from the base and is somewhat sunken closer to the tip. Welldefined primary veins (usually 6-8) radiate from the juncture of theleaf blade and the petiole. The first primary vein on each side of themidrib protrudes for no more than 1/2 of the blade's length and theadjacent primary veins protrude for a smaller portion of the blade'slength. The remaining primary veins are entirely sunken. Midrib and allprimary veins protrude from the lower surface of the leaf blade.

Color.--Newly unfolded leaf: Upper surface--similar to 147A; protrudingportions of the veins--146B-C. Lower surface--147B; veins lighter than144A with some resemblance to 144B and 145A. Mature Leaf: Uppersurface--Much darker than 147A; protruding portions of the veins:146A-B. Lower surface--Lighter than 147A, darker than 147B; veins--mostof the midrib and primary veins close to the base most similar to 144Awith some resemblance to 146B; the remaining part of the veins similarin color to the surrounding tissue.

Scale leaf covering lateral vegetative bud (opposite to the matureinflorescence):

Length.--14.0-15.3 cm.

Color.13 Base (up to 1-1.5 cm high) has various colors including: 146D,a color lighter than 146D, 146C and 144 B-D; the lightest colors appearat the bottom. Above the base, central zone is similar to 146A and thesides are similar to 144A with some resemblance to 146A-B.

Scale leaf between peduncle of a young inflorescence and the stem:

Length.--3.9-4.8 cm.

Color.--Two protruding ribs--144A; areas between and outside theribs--much lighter and a little translucent consist of the shades of andbetween 144B-D and 145B-D.

Inflorescence:

Arrangement.--Most spathes carried above or near the level of foliage onstrong, usually straight peduncles. Sometimes peduncle slightly curvesapproximately 1 cm below the juncture with the spathe. Spadix large inrelation to spathe (ratio spathe length to spadix length 1.2-1.5:1) andsituated low on the spathe.

Development: In a newly opened inflorescence usually spadix bendsbackwards or is almost vertical and the spathe is almost parallel to thespadix. Within a few days spathe becomes reflexed and the spadix becomesmore vertical or remains unchanged. Later spathe gradually rises and atmaturity resumes a horizontal or higher position forming an anglebetween 45 to 90 degrees with the spadix; tip curves backwards. Spadixremains vertical or slightly bent backwards.

Peduncle:

Size.--36.5-39.2 cm long; 3.7-4.9 mm in diameter at the mid length;cross section approximately round; 4-5 mm from front spathe--attachingposition to spadix base; stipe approximately 1 mm long.

Color immediately below mature spathe.--Front: Similar to, but darkerthan 144A with some resemblance to 146A, B. Back: 144A. Front and backof peduncle become a little darker towards the base.

Spathe:

Shape.--Ovate, at maturity almost flat or slightly curving backwards,with small ridges radiating from the juncture with peduncle;tip--between cuspidate, acuminate and aristate, slightly curved with theedges rolling frontwards; base--cordate sometimes slightly asymmetric;two rounded lobes extend 0.9-1.3 cm (9.5-13.0% of the spathe's length)in front of peduncle.

Size (flattened).--8.0-10.6 cm long, 6.4-7.7 cm wide; length to widthratio 1.2-1.4:1.

Texture.--Smooth, glossy.

Color.--Closed bud: Similar to 155A, B, D. Newly open spathe: Front--Alittle darker than 155D (white) with variable amount and intensity ofpink coloration between the veins; most spathes are almost entirelywhite or have some patches of 36D; some spathes have some darkercolor--almost 51D or 54D, especially close to the base; pink colorationis always most intense in lobe portions in front of peduncle andgradually fades towards the tip. Back --A little darker than 155D.Mature spathe: Front--Similar to 155D. Back--Similar to 155B and 155D.

Veins.--Inconspicuous; in the basal half on the slightly elevatedridges.

Spadix:

Shape.--Columnar, slightly tapering in the distal half.

Size.--5.4-6.9 cm long, 7.2-8.4 mm in diameter.

Color.--Changes dramatically between time of spathe opening and pollenexpulsion. Young--no pistils visible to the naked eye: Basalapproximately 1/4 of spadix, where pistils start protruding--the hue issimilar to 54C and intensity similar to 66D; merges with 35C, whichdominates the next 1/3-1/2 of the spadix and merges with 11B of the tip;in the back 11B extends further down than in the front. The basal redzone gradually expands and becomes darker at the bottom, especially infront, as the middle orange-red zone shrinks. Mature--pistils visible onapproximately 3/4 of the spadix length: Basal zone with visible stigmasshows a slight gradation of color from the lightest at the bottom(similar to 55C, D and 54D) to the darkest at the top (between 54C and55B); the upper zone, with no visible stigmas is similar to, but usuallylighter than 51B and darker than 51C or 50C; tip is 35C, sometimes withsome 11B; when pistils are visible on the entire length of spadix, thebase of the spadix is between 55D and 63D and the distal portion issimilar to 63C, 62B and 55B except for the tip, which is 51B.

Botanical flower:

Perianth.--Easily visible between pistils, determines the color of thespadix, segments united.

pistil.--Not visible immediately after spathe opening, at maturitydistinctly lighter than perianth; stigmas well visible.

Stamens.--Not visible before pollen release.

Flowering: Flowers naturally in 15 cm pots, about 9-11 months fromplanting tissue cultured microcuttings. Continuous year-round flowering.One to four spathes constantly visible above or among leaves.

Spathe longevity: Spathe remains white for up to 7.5 weeks followingemergence of bud above or among foliage and then gradually changes to agreen color.

Roots: Roots developed above soil line are thick, fleshy andnon-branching; they usually develop inside of and stay tightly wrappedby the scale leaves until their senescence. Roots developed below soilline are fleshy, branched with fine lateral roots, cream in color withyellow root caps.

Disease and insect resistance: No unusual susceptibility to diseases orinsects noted to date.

Comparison with the known cultivars

The new cultivar can be compared to the known cultivar `Georgusis WhiteNumber 1`, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,129 a/k/a Lady Anne. The comparisonswere made on plants grown under similar conditions in a greenhouse nearAltha, Fla.

`A1` is distinguished from `Georgusis White Number 1` by its earlierbranching and earlier and more abundant flowering. `A1` is furtherdistinguished from `Georgusis White Number 1` by its larger spathes withless pink coloration, which is retained for a shorter time afteropening; longer (more aristate) spathe tip; larger and darker spadixesbetter contrasting with the spathe; thicker and stronger peduncles;darker, glossier, substantially wider and usually shorter leaf bladeswith more erect lobes; less susceptibility to nutrient disorders and lowtemperature damage.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Anthurium plant named `A1`,substantially as described and illustrated herein, characterizedparticularly as to novelty by its medium size; vigorous growth; earlyand abundant branching; early, abundant and year-round flowering; darkgreen, glossy, thick leaves; inflorescences of good quality from theonset of flowering; medium size white spathes with limited pinkcoloration held on strong peduncles above and at the level of foliage.